


Thrown for a Loop

by Evilsforreals



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Judo, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-24
Updated: 2016-03-24
Packaged: 2018-05-28 19:11:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6341656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evilsforreals/pseuds/Evilsforreals
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reiner's used to being the one tossing people around in judo, not the other way around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thrown for a Loop

“I'm telling you, there's no way we were that pathetic looking when we were freshmen.”

 

There was a brief silence until Reiner brought his fist crashing down on the bright red tabletop, shaking three battered lunch trays, a laptop, and a towering pile of generic soul-crushing textbooks. Bertholdt gave a soft squeak as his fork tipped off the edge, and he dove after it.

 

“I mean just _look_ at 'em!” he said, gesticulating towards the massive cafeteria doors with a ketchup-soaked french fry. A group of doe-eyed students stood hesitantly at the entrance of the Shiganshina Cafeteria, mulling around in an uneasy huddle of backpacks, planners, and palpable anxiety.

 

An exasperated sigh came from behind the mound of books. “If I humor you and turn around, is there the slightest chance that you'll let me get some work done today?”

 

“No promises, but the percentages would undoubtedly sway in your favor,” Reiner grinned, as he reached for another fry. “C'mon, take a break, you could use a laugh. They look helpless!”

 

There was the sound of a book snapping closed, and then Annie Leonharts' small nose appeared from behind the pile. She stared intently at the entrance for approximately five seconds before retreating back behind her books. “Reiner, I started college with braces, and you dressed like a jock strap and a polo shirt had a baby. We are the last people on the planet capable of feeling superior to the new freshmen.”

 

“I do _not_ dress like-like whatever it is you just said.”

 

“Reiner take a look at what you're wearing today. You'll notice that _I_ have managed to ditch the braces, while you...” Annie let her words trailed off as she peeked out from behind her stack with a mixture of sympathy and disgust.

 

Reiner glanced down. He was wearing his usual Monday ensemble; khaki cargo shorts that would put a rugby player to shame, a garish green and orange snapback that he won at beer pong last year, and an uncomfortably tight black T-shirt with the sleeves conveniently ripped off. There was a small picture of a flexing sailor on the front next to bright silver letters:

 

**CALL THE VET, THESE PUPPIES ARE SICK**

 

He gave an elaborate shrug, not noticing that he had accidentally bumped a passing student, nearly dropping their tray. “Aw come on, I always dress down when I have judo. I always work up a sweat throwing people around, it's not like I need to wear my Sunday best.”

 

“That'd be true if you actually **had** a Sunday best.”

 

Reiner glared at the books, as if his irritation with Annie could penetrate the _Comprehensive History of Carnivorous Tax Felons of the 1860's_. His eyes shifted to Bertholdt, who had emerged victoriously from the floor, fork in-hand. “Bert, I can dress up, right? Come on, back me up here.”

 

Bertholdt shook his head firmly, turning his attention back to his roast chicken. “Dude, you tried to show up to Ymir and Historia's wedding in a dragon onesie missing the arms. You're on your own.”

 

“They said to dress casual!”

 

“Casual for a wedding Rei, not a Disney-inspired gangbang.”

 

“But what's wrong with what I'm wearing now?” Reiner pouted.“When I flex my chest, the little sailor dances...”

 

“You are quite literally the only person that thinks that is an endearing quality,” Annie interrupted glibly.

 

“Well it's not like a new set of duds is going to make a better impression on people,” Reiner grumbled. “Most everyone sees me and just sees a big brute anyway, it's not like I'm going to find an easier way to find a date inside a fucking Louis Vuitton scarf.”

 

“Oh, you could borrow mi-”

 

“Just being dramatic Bert, but I appreciate it.”

 

“Ah.”

 

The three sophomores ate in silence for a few minutes; Annie still in her books, Bert doing something to his phone, and Reiner aimlessly staring around the massive cafeteria. The pack of freshmen had finally moved to a table, and were talking in several groups. Eventually, one or two of them glanced in his direction by accident, but quickly looked away when they saw him watching. _Typical,_ Reiner thought sourly to himself. He abruptly got to his feet. “I'm gonna head to the gym to prep for judo.”

 

Annie raised her eyes in mock surprise. “You? Going to work early? What's the-”

 

Reiner rolled his eyes, cutting her off mid-retort. “Yeah yeah, blah blah. It's the first official meeting of the semester, so we gotta be ready for newbies.”

 

“So in other words you're going to spend the afternoon pounding a bunch of inexperienced beginners into the ground because you're huffy about your fashion choices.”

 

“Your words, not mine.”

 

Annie gave a mock wave. “Ever the warrior we need. Text me if you want to do dinner.”

 

Bertholdt made a more sincere wave, although his mouth was still stuffed with chicken and potatoes. “ _Hrmpf fr gd prcrtce._ ”

 

“Words I'll take to heart,” Reiner laughed, as he grabbed his tray. He walked towards the exit, passing the group of freshmen, who now seemed to be busy color-coordinating their planners. _Oh bless them,_ Reiner thought as he slid his tray into the bin.

 

The air was a bit nippy outside; the last vengeful remnants of winter, begrudgingly making one last stand in the face of spring. Reiner shivered slightly, feeling the tiniest pang of regret for his minimalist clothing ensemble. Bowing his head slightly to stare at the faded gray bricks, he set off. Subtle hints of daffodil, hyacinth, and snowdrop permeated the air as he walked briskly, towards the gymnasium.

 

As he raised his head to climb the steps to the gym, he caught a flash of green out of the corner of his eye. Swiveling his head to the right, Reiner found himself staring intently at the eastern corner of the building. Shrugging to himself, he climbed the cracked steps, and pushed through the glass door.

 

The entrance of the gym was clean, if, a little outdated looking. Pseudo-inspirational posters that were probably hit-or-miss in the 70's covered an enormous cork board on one side of the room. Reiner sauntered past them, and pulled his ID out of his pocket. The card slid past the scanner, and the tollway opened up, offering barely enough room for Reiner to squeeze through.

 

The gymnasium was relatively quiet. A few older professors were chatting away on some StairMasters in the corner, while a smaller man was making extremely angry grunts as he handled the free-weights. “Your stance is wrong Eren,” Reiner called, and the man shot him a glare before grudgingly shifting his posture.

 

Reiner chuckled, and ducked into the hallway, making his way past several glass cases, crammed to the brim with faded gold trophies, which cast shimmering patterns of light through the air that twinkled with each fleck of dust. He pushed through a dilapidated metal door which opened with a groan into the locker room.

 

The room was silent, as Reiner quickly made his way through the lines of copper boxes, until he stood in front of his locker, number 104. After fiddling with the ancient combination lock, the door sprang open, revealing a stiff white _judogi_ uniform folded neatly in a square. Reiner dropped his bag, and pulled off his shirt, shivering at the cold air on his bare chest.

 

Four years of judo, and a part-time job last year as a bouncer hadn't come without scars. A few discolored welts and scratches dotted his broad back, with one particularly nasty slash a hairs-breadth away from his navel from when an irate clubber had taken a swipe at him with a broken beer bottle. Reiner ran his hand across the pockmarked gash grimacing as memories of the pain trickled back. It had taken a number of stitches and a several months of rest before he could return to his duties as the judo clubs go-to _tori._

 

Every year, a swarm of freshman would join Shiganshina Universities famous judo club. A large portion of the first few sessions was introducing the students to the three basic judo categories; _nage-waza (throwing),_ _katame-waza (grappling),_ and _atemi-waza (striking)._ To quickly ensure that only serious students would stay, the club would try to shock them with a barrage of difficult scenarios. Reiner was assigned the role of the _tori,_ which basically made him the club guru of tossing around freshmen like limp hackey-sacks.

 

He had been assured at the time that it was because of his skill as a black belt, but a part of Reiner resented being shoe-horned into the role. He knew deep down that his height and strength were meant to be an additional scare-tactic for the weak-willed or ambivalent. It usually only took one or two good throws before a good portion of the new recruits wised up and excused themselves.

 

But Reiner hated being consciously used to instill fear. He hated seeing people go out of their way to avoid him on the streets. He hated how people looked warily at him whenever he entered a store. One time, he had tried to flirt with a boy on the street, and instead had to take five minutes to convince the frantic young man that he was, in fact, **not** robbing him.

 

_Whatever. People can think what they want_. Reiner shook his head in annoyance, and began to pull on the _judogi_ when he heard a soft tap on the lockers behind him.

 

Remembering that the room had been empty a moment ago, he instantly whipped his head around, only catching another brief flash of neon green disappearing past the row of lockers. He rushed to the end of the row, but the door to the locker room slammed shut, and Reiner wasn't quite prepared to sprint through the gym half-naked again. Sober at least.

 

“Who _was_ that?” he mumbled, returning to his bag. He quickly finished dressing, and shoved the bag into his locker. Whatever it was, it could wait until after practice.

 

 

“Welcome, to the Shiganshina Judo Club. I am Mike Sensei, the leader of our club.”

 

The only person that could rival Reiner's size and strength was his sensei, Mike Zacharius. A literal mountain of a man, with bushy brown hair draping over his eyes, Mike Zacharius easily caused many to stare in awe/caution.

 

Mike was seated cross-legged in the center of the dojo; a wide circular room inlaid with smooth lacquered wooden tiles. Reiner and the other current members of the club were seated behind him. Facing Mike and the others was a group of increasingly intimidated looking freshmen. Many were wearing _judogi_ far too big or small for them; their discomfort apparent as Mike continued.

 

“The way of judo is not an easy one. We do not search for fights, but strive with all our being to end them. You will face many challenges. You will experience pain, fear, disappointment, and failure in this room. That is the only way that you may find the determination within _yourself_ to persevere. If you did not expect this, there is no shame in leaving. I am being honest with my expectations, and I entreat you to follow suit.”

 

There was a deafening silence throughout the room. Then, two freshmen rose meekly from the far left, and exited the room. Reiner tried to hide a grin; Mike's first speech of the year **always** made at least one person leave immediately.

 

He surveyed the group. There were a few that held the posture and rigidity of one who had already begun their training. The majority of them looked surprised, but at the same time excited. Mike's words had inspired them, and they were eager to begin. _Well,_ Reiner thought to himself, _we'll see how long that inspiration lasts._

 

Mike held a short introduction to the basic techniques, and explained the concept of _ukemi._ A large portion of judo practice involved break falls; coordinated throws that taught the student how each throw felt, and how to minimize injury. It was also a sure-fire way to discourage anyone else who wasn't absolutely passionate about learning the art. Being thrown forcefully onto the ground several times had a way of reminding people of how much they really wanted/didn't want it. And that was Reiner's job today.

 

Mike began splitting the freshmen up amongst the senior members. Five by five, they made their way cautiously across the room. The last bunch were left to Reiner. They shuffled over, looking like Christmas had been replaced with a punch to the face. Two of them looked ready to pass out in a heartbeat. One brunette took one close look at Reiner, and immediately turned heel, marching straight out of the room. He smiled grimly, watching the retreating figure. _Same as always._

The next five minutes were quick and brutal. One after another, the newcomers would be carefully grasped, and then violently flung onto their backs. The meager plastic mat did little to dull the heavy thuds and sharp hisses of pain. The three others quickly left, leaving Reiner alone with the last newcomer.

 

By first glance alone, he was easily the smallest freshman Reiner had every seen, looking like a disheveled toddler in the oversized _judoki._ Despite his haphazard apparel and his painfully obvious discomfort at the looming encounter, he carried himself with surprising confidence. He looked reasonably fit, with a buzzed head that screamed 'military family.' Reiner beckoned him closer. “What's your name?”

 

The boy ran a hand nervously across his soft grey scalp. “Connie. Connie Springer.”

 

“Nice to meet you. Reiner Braun.” he raised his hand to shake.

 

Connie eagerly accepted, not realizing that Reiner wasn't, in fact, offering a simple hand-shake. Pivoting to the left, Reiner twisted, and the smaller boy whirled through the air, to land flat on his back; arm bent firmly in Reiner's grasp.

 

“..... _Owwwwwww....”_

 

Reiner couldn't help but chuckle at the pitiful moan. He offered a hand to pull him up. Connie eyed the hand warily. “This isn't another throw, is it? Because like, I'm already _on_ the ground. You could save yourself some time.”

 

Reiner gave a genuine smile; happy for even a mildly positive reaction after the first throw. “Sensei's honor. I honestly thought you would have noticed how I did that to the other four.”

 

Connie winced as Reiner yanked him to his feet. “Honestly, I wasn’t _ouch!-_ paying attention to that.”

 

Reiner cocked his eyebrows expectantly. “So, you've had a taste. Had enough?”

 

To his surprise, Connie shook his head, grinning. “Nah, I can put up with a lot. Let's do another!”

 

“If you're sure...” Reiner said, before abruptly looping his leg underneath Connie's, and using the upset balance to send him back to the floor.

 

Again and again, Reiner would throw him, and just as quickly, Connie would leap back up with surprising energy, only to be thrown back down to the mats. Onto his back, his face, twisted, prone, Reiner ran him through the whole newcomer package, until he found himself sitting on Connie's back, arm locked and pinned. “I've got to admit,” Reiner said, without moving from Connie's back, “you've got a lot of endurance.”

 

“I'll say this,” Connie groaned, his voice partially muffled by the practice mat. “This is the most I've _ever_ had to endure to ask a guy out before.”

 

It took several seconds for the words to take effect. But when they did, the air rushed from Reiner's lungs, and he froze in place. Unfortunately, freezing up meant that a lot of additional pressure was suddenly being exerted onto Connie's arm, causing him to squawk in obvious pain. “Ow! Owowowowow, I'm _sorry,_ I was gonna- I wanted to- ugh I knew this was a bad idea, I didn't mea-OWWWWW ok ok I'm sorry never mind!”

 

_Asking...asking me out? Me?_ A sudden explosion of confusion, excitement, denial, and disbelief were vying for Reiner's attention, so that he continued to unintentionally ignore the escalating pleas of one exceedingly uncomfortable and squashed young man.

 

A hand suddenly rested on Reiner's shoulder. “Reiner, you're going to break his arm if you keep that up.”

 

Startled, Reiner finally broke out of his shock, and loosened the hold, backing away slowly. Connie gingerly got to his knees, cradling his arm, and continuing his loud diatribe of 'ouches.'

 

“That's enough for today Braun,” Mike said sternly. “That was unacceptable behavior, even for the newcomers. Go change and come back later.”

 

Reiner simply nodded, still trying to process the sudden chain of events, walking slowly towards the locker room. Several of the sensei members were whispering among themselves, but Reiner paid no mind to them. He exited the practice room, and made his way into the locker room which, again, was empty. He sat down on the bench, staring fixedly at his hands.

 

Someone...someone had asked him out...for the first time. He hadn't been the one that had to take charge, someone else had done it.

 

“Hey, sorry about that,” came a soft voice from behind Reiner.

 

Whirling around, Reiner's face came mere inches from colliding with Connie's meek grin. So many strange emotions were bubbling up inside him. He wanted to yell, to run away, to demand an explanation. But all he could muster was a calm“you asked me out.”

 

It wasn't a question. Just a fact.

 

Connie made a face, as he opened a locker several rows down. “Yeah sorry again. I'm _super_ bad about my timing. I probably should've waited until I wasn't in some perpetual death grip before dropping a bomb like that. My friend always says I-”

 

“A date.”

 

“Yup.”

 

“You're not...scared of me?”

 

At this, Connie paused, his eyebrows raised in obvious confusion. “Why would I be scared of you?”

 

“Because I'm...I'm huge and-and big! I've been flinging you around the mats for the past ten minutes! Doesn't that bother you?”

 

“I mean, I think I've decided that Judo isn't for me...but I knew that already. And that last little move reaaaaaally cemented it, though I'll admit, I did kind of surprise you so I suppose I deserved a little something from that.”

 

Reiner shook his head, not believing his ears. “Wait you don't even **like** judo? Then why did you even come?”

 

“I already said! To ask you out!”

 

Reiner's head was swimming, and he could feel his cheeks reddening. He took a deep breath to collect himself. “Let me try to understand. So...you. You, a freshman, who has no desire to-to even **be** in judo, endured getting tossed around like a slab of meat for...for a date, with someone you've never even met?”

 

Connie sniffed. “I'd like to think I injected at least a _little_ grace into my falls. But yeah, you're pretty much on the money. Except for never meeting you.”

 

“I'm...I'm pretty sure I would've remembered someone that acted like you...”

 

At this, Connie laughed. “I didn't expect you to remember. I was touring colleges with my parents a year back, and walking around campus during the club fair or whatever. You were running the LGBTQ pride booth, when I tripped and dropped all of my stuff.

 

A distant memory was making it's way out of the shadows. Reiner could suddenly remember the hot sun, the constant loop of about five Lady Gaga songs, and the student, desperately trying to pick up his belongings in the middle of a sea of students.

 

“And you helped me pick it all up.” Connie smiled softly at him. “That little act made the decision for me, to attend Shiganshina University. And I figured that if I saw you, I'd thank you, and ask you out on a date.”

 

Reiner chuckled, staring in semi-disbelief at the smiling man in front of him. To think that such a small insignificant act had led to this...

 

“I was dressed like shit that day,” Reiner mumbled giving Connie a weak grin. Connie beamed at him.

 

“Eh, I have a similar fashion sense. Or as my mom calls it-'nonexistant.'” he chuckled as he pulled out a bright green hoodie-”

 

“It was you!” Reiner exclaimed, pointing at the neon green jacket. “You were in the cafeteria, and outside the gym, and-and you were here!”

 

It was suddenly Connie's turn to blush. “I recognized you in the cafeteria, but was too afraid to say something at first,” he said shyly. “So I waited for you to come out and followed behind. I had overheard you talking about judo, so I put two and two together and...here I am.”

 

“I only saw like, little glimmers of green. I thought I was still drunk from St. Patricks Day! How'd you get so fast?”

 

“I do parkour.”

 

“Wait...were you watching me change?”

 

“Well I-I figured there'd be more people in here. And when there wasn't I got awkward. And then you took your shirt off and I got waaaaay more awkward...wow I am really selling this date aren't I...”

 

Reiner reached out and put a hand firmly on his shoulder. “No one... has ever- **ever** asked me out before. Let alone ask me out **after** I'd pummeled them into the floor. I'd be fucking _honored_ to go on a date with you.”

 

The acceptance took a moment to register on Connie's face; a slow brightening realization that spread until his face was practically shining. “Really?”

 

Reiner smiled, his heart light, and full of excitement. Something he hadn't felt in a long time.

 

“Really.”

 

 


End file.
